Bachelor's degree graduates who want to teach part-time in North Carolina high schools now have an avenue through Central Piedmont.

Central Piedmont's High School Adjunct Instructor certificate program provides a course of study leading to the development of the general pedagogy and competencies needed to become an adjunct instructor in a public high school in North Carolina. 

Coursework includes classroom management and pedagogy, effective instructional methods, foundations of education, educational technology, and other related topics. Potential candidates should have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and apply through the College Foundation of North Carolina website.

For more information about Central Piedmont's K-12 teacher preparation programs, contact Jennifer Perkins, program chair, K-12 education. 

"As a provider of K-12 teacher preparation programs, Central Piedmont can impact the current teaching shortage in the Charlotte region and across North Carolina," Perkins said. "The high school adjunct instructor certificate program is a direct path to prepare those interested in teaching part-time by providing the coursework and support to be successful in a high school classroom."

Thanks to a grant from Faison Enterprises, Inc., 70 Central Piedmont Community College students in the Construction Management, Electrical Systems Technology, and Welding programs received a tool set valued at nearly $500 to help jump-start their careers.

Tools included safety glasses, helmets, multimeters, measuring tapes, backpacks, and more. Central Piedmont instructors selected the tools to best work for the students as they begin their careers. 

In addition to the tool sets, the students also received a $750 cash supplement to use however they need as they embark on the next step in their academic and career journey. 

"This is an amazing gift," said Colton Droke, an electrical systems technology student. "I didn't have the money to afford something like this, and this a great opportunity. I've been using my grandfather's toolbox, which is more like a tackle box, and a variety of hand-me-down tools. I'll use this every day." 

"This will help me immediately," added Farris Robertson, a dual enrollment student studying carpentry. "I'm very grateful because I would have had to purchase this out of my own pocket, and now I can use that money elsewhere." 

"Faison is very excited to partner with Central Piedmont and launch this pilot program," said Kris Fetter, President and CEO of Faison. "Central Piedmont is such an important institution serving the Charlotte community. We want these students to receive the best education in these fields of study so they can enter the workforce and have a productive, meaningful career."

Faison Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1988 by Henry J. Faison. His vision was to create a firm that focused primarily on real estate investing, but above all to be a good corporate citizen. The firm's mission is to honor the legacy of Mr. Faison by partnering with nonprofits on transformative initiatives. The pilot program at Central Piedmont fulfills one of the firm's objectives in promoting career/workforce readiness. 

Hendrick Automotive Group and local business leader Rick Hendrick have given Central Piedmont Community College approximately 23 acres of land adjacent to the college's Levine Campus in Matthews. Central Piedmont will use the donated property to build a new first responder training facility. 

The gift is the latest milestone in a long-time relationship between Central Piedmont, the Hendrick family, and Charlotte-based Hendrick Automotive Group. The college opened the Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Technology in 2006 at the Levine Campus. Each year, the center, named for Joseph R. Hendrick Jr., father of Rick Hendrick, serves more than 3,000 students who aspire to be automotive technicians as well as employed technicians who seek updated skills. A gift from the Hendrick family allowed the college to construct the center. 

"Institutions of higher education can flourish and make an enhanced impact only when they have corporate and community partners who are willing to collaborate and dream with them. Central Piedmont has such a partner in Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Automotive Group," said Dr. Kandi Deitemeyer, Central Piedmont president. "This generous gift will allow the college to realize its vision of building a first responder training facility in southeast Mecklenburg County, where none currently exists. The college appreciates its long-running partnership with the Hendrick family and Hendrick Automotive Group." 

Plans for the first responder training center include law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS, forensics, detention, and telecommunicator facilities. Outdoor training spaces will include a scenario training village and emergency driving range. Indoor facilities will provide a firing range and a fire and rescue area with specialized equipment for comprehensive training. The center will be constructed in phases, with the first phase opening in 2027, and phase two opening in 2028. 

"Central Piedmont is a cornerstone of the Charlotte community and our broader region," said Hendrick, the chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group. "Over many years, we've been humbled by our relationship with the school, and we're delighted to support the continued growth of its exceptional Levine Campus. When we broke ground on the Joe Hendrick Center back in 2005, I could not have predicted how substantial its impact would be. With the knowledge that Central Piedmont will use this land to develop a world-class training facility for our first responders, today's announcement is especially meaningful. My family and our teammates at Hendrick Automotive Group are truly honored to be involved." 

In addition to its law enforcement, fire and rescue, EMS and forensics programs, Central Piedmont offers an associate degree program in Public Safety Administration. The two-year program provides students multiple tracks to tailor their experience toward their desired career or current field of expertise.   

The college has designed the Public Safety Administration curriculum to provide students, as well as practitioners, with knowledge and skills in the technical, managerial and administrative areas necessary for entrance or advancement within various public safety and government organizations. Students completing the program can pursue careers within fire and police departments, emergency management organizations, governmental agencies, industrial firms, correctional facilities, private industries, insurance organizations, educational organizations, security and protective organizations, and through self-employment opportunities. 

See the Central Piedmont website for more information about the college's first responder and public safety administration programs. 

Central Piedmont Community College's Truist Honors Program understands the importance of preparing scholars for the next step in their life journey.

Central Piedmont's first research subcommittee of Truist Honors Scholars developed dissertation-like proposals and research-based academic presentations to present at academic conferences followed by an Honors Program Expo, where scholars presented to a group of students, faculty, staff, and college leaders.

The goal of the research subcommittee is to educate and expose undergraduate honors scholars to experiences and opportunities related to their interests and long-term goals whether they plan to earn a degree, transfer, or enter the workplace. The program defines success as preparing scholars for beyond what's next.

Scholars worked for months to understand the terms associated with research, how to conduct a literature review, the use of theories to support their research, the population of interest, and the justification of choices made to support their proposal method and design. Universities and employers value individuals who know the usefulness of research in addition to knowing how to utilize data to tell a story, make decisions, and develop plans.

Ultimately, they desire critical thinking, communication, collaboration, information and technology literacy, individuals who are comfortable with research and data, and understand the practical application without the fear that many students have when they hear the word research.

Truist Honors Scholars can participate in designated honors courses, honors curated events, and/or immersion experiences aligned with research, scholarship, and innovation. All of these align with the foundations of Central Piedmont's Honors Program from the hands-on experience of developing a research proposal, identifying existing literature and credible resources, applying research to the local and global community, and using their leadership skills to create clearly defined goals during the research process.

Throughout their experiences, scholars are required to reflect and describe their academic, professional, and personal growth as well as the impact of these experiences on their future. Truist Honors Scholars described these experiences as life-changing for a variety of reasons, but the number one reason is that they now know they can do it.

Deninne Pritchett, honors program faculty director, shares that "even as a seasoned professional and terminal degree holder," she learns more about research every day, as well as ways to improve how to investigate, display, and manage data. She adds, "If there had been a focus on research, data, and reporting during my community college years, I would have understood more about developing original research than I did at the beginning of my PhD journey."

This highlights the importance of Central Piedmont's Truist Honors Scholars' taste of doctoral life while attending community college which opens a whole new world of possibilities.

Central Piedmont hopes to fuel students' interest and passion for research by launching the Piedmont Interdisciplinary Studies Journal (PISJ), a peer-reviewed academic journal for undergraduate and graduate researchers to publish starting in Fall 2024. The honors program-supported journal will accept scholarly work from various academic fields: empirical research, literature reviews, theoretical analysis, book reviews, and literature-supported student topic papers.

Contact Dr. Deninne Pritchett for details about the Truist Honors Program and the Piedmont Interdisciplinary Studies Journal.